Thursday, November 5, 2015

Building nothing out of something - songs 10 to 6

At this point, every remaining song is so good that a ranking is almost meaningless. I want to hear them all, most days, for the rest of my life. If I ranked the songs each week for 10 weeks, I have little doubt that no Top 10 would be exactly the same. For the sake of this project, this is how I rank songs 6 through 10 today.

10. 3rd Planet (The Moon & Antarctica)

Everything that keeps me together is falling apart
I've got this thing that I consider my only art of fucking people over
My boss just quit the job says
He's goin' out to find blind spots and he'll do it

The third planet is sure that they're being watched
By an eye in the sky that can't be stopped
When you get to the promise land
Your gonna shake that eyes hand

Your heart felt good it was drippin' pitch and made of wood
And your hands and knees felt cold and wet on the grass to me
Well outside naked, shiverin' looking blue
From the cold sunlight that's reflected off the moon

Baby cum angels fly around you
Reminding you we used to be three and not just two
And that's how the world began
And that's how the world will end

Well a third had just been made and we were swimming in the water
Didn't know, then was it a son was it a daughter
When it occurred to me that the animals are swimming
Around in the water in the oceans, in our bodies

And another had been found, another ocean on the planet
Given that our blood is just like the Atlantic
And how

Well the universe is shaped exactly like the earth
If you go straight long enough, you'll end up where you were

I was late to the party when it came to discovering the music of Modest Mouse. My excuse is that I was living in England when they formed and the band was pretty obscure outside the US at the time. One of my earliest memories of the band is hearing 3rd Planet open The Moon & Antarctica and I was immediately interested. Because of that, and its place at the beginning of the album, it feels natural to begin Modest Mouse playlists with the song. It starts quietly with haunting guitar and then builds, becoming memorable by the end.

"When it occurred to me that the animals are swimming, around in the water in the oceans, in our bodies"

"Everything that keeps me together is falling apart"

And I love the observation/idea in the last verse:

"Well the universe is shaped exactly like the earth, if you go straight long enough, you'll end up where you were"

The song itself seems to come full circle, ending like it began. It's one of many perfectly crafted songs from the band.

Here's a good festival performance from 2010:

9. Trailer Trash (The Lonesome Crowded West)

Eating snowflakes with plastic forks
And a paper plate of course, you think of everything
Short love with a long divorce and a couple of kids of course
They don't mean anything

Live in trailers with no class
Goddamn I hope I can pass, high school means nothing
Taking heartache with hard work
Goddamn I am such a jerk, I can't do anything

And I shout that you're all fakes
And you should have seen the look on your face
And I guess that's what it takes
When comparing your bellyaches

And it's been a long time
Which agrees with this watch of mine
And I know that I miss you
And I'm sorry if I dissed you

Eating snowflakes with plastic forks
And a paper plate of course, you think of everything
Short love with a long divorce and a couple of kids of course
They don't mean anything

Live in trailers with no class
Goddamn I hope I can pass, high school means nothing
Taking heartache with hard work
Goddamn I am such a jerk, I can't do anything

And I shout that you're all fakes
And you should have seen the look on your face
And I guess that's what it takes
When comparing your bellyaches

And it's been a long time
Which agrees with this watch of mine
And I guess that I miss you
And I'm sorry if I dissed you

This song sounds so personal that I am sure Isaac Brock saw some of these things going on around him as he was growing up. It's about a way of life that is almost desperate, but we all do what we need to do in order to survive. We can't help where we came from, we can only affect where we are going. Brock escaped the existence described in Trailer Trash through music, and I imagine he suffered a fair amount of ridicule when he first announced his dream of being a musician. Anything can happen if you have the talent, perseverance and belief.

In the following two verses, Trailer Trash paints a picture so real that I can see it:

"Eating snowflakes with plastic forks
And a paper plate of course, you think of everything
Short love with a long divorce and a couple of kids of course
They don't mean anything

Live in trailers with no class
Goddamn I hope I can pass, high school means nothing
Taking heartache with hard work
Goddamn I am such a jerk, I can't do anything"

Such brilliant lyrics. I have seen a lot of failed marriages throughout the course of my life. I guess that if you are poor and feel that you don't have much to live for, you might rush into one of the biggest decisions of your life. It's hard to have any clue about who you want to spend the rest of your life with when you are 20. The feelings are still somewhat new and overwhelming, and it's hard to be rational.

As for the music, it's another song that's constructed perfectly. The natural ebb and flow matches the mood of the lyrics. The guitars soar at times. The whole album is full of great songs and that's why it is so heavily represented at this end of my Top 100.

8. Cowboy Dan (The Lonesome Crowded West)

Well, Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation drinks
And gets mean

He's gonna start a war
He's gonna start a war
And he hops in his Pickup
Puts the pedal to the floor
And says "I got mine but I want more"

Because, Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation drinks
And gets mean

He goes to the desert
Fires his rifle in the sky
And says, "God if I have to die
You will have to die"

Because, Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
I didn't move to the city
The city moved to me
And I want out desperately

Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over
Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

No, no, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

Standing in the tall grass
Thinking nothing
You know we need oxygen to breathe
Oxygen to breathe

Standing in the tall grass
Thinking nothing
You know we need oxygen to breathe
Oxygen to breathe

Every time you think you're walking
You're just moving the ground
Every time you think you're talking
You're just moving your mouth
Every time you think you're looking
You're just looking down

Well, Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation drinks
And gets mean

He hops in his Pickup
Puts the pedal to the floor
And says "I got mine
But I want more"

'Cause, Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
He goes to the reservation drinks
And gets mean

He goes to the desert
Fires his rifle in the sky
And says, "God if I have to die
You will have to die"

Cowboy Dan's a major player
In the cowboy scene
He goes the the reservation drinks
And gets mean

I didn't move to the city
The city moved to me
And I want out desperately

Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over
Can't do it, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

No, no, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over
Yeah, not even if sober
Can't get that engine turned over

The first few notes of Cowboy Dan create a mood that lasts throughout the song. It's stark and sinister at first, but gradually builds into a repetitive and almost hypnotic rant. About two minutes in, everything is reigned in and it becomes reflective.

"You know we need oxygen to breathe"

That line is our oxygen. It's a temporary escape from the intensity that most of the song provides. Then the ranting resumes. It's another song that makes me feel like I am taking a journey. Five minutes in and I am being swept along as the band explores even further, improvising with guitar spirals and a repetitive pounding beat.

My favorite lyrics from Cowboy Dan all come from this verse:

"Every time you think you're walking you're just moving the ground
Every time you think you're talking you're just moving your mouth
Every time you think you're looking you're just looking down"

I could probably write about those three lines for an hour, but I'll spare you. They speak for themselves.

I had a hard time choosing between Cowboy Dan and Trailer Trash at 8 and 9 because both are great in their own way; great, but completely different in feel. It's like comparing drama to comedy. If I ever love another album more than I love The Lonesome Crowded West, it would have to be incredible. I doubt that it will ever happen.

Here's a must-see extended live version from 2001:

"Well I don't care about your state of denial
'cause I'm sittin' by the window with a saucer and a smile sayin'
what's left, what's best, what's sex, was this death or just a test?"

If you don't like that song, you're reading the wrong blog.

7. The Whale Song (No One's First and You're Next)

I guess I am a scout so I should find a way out
So everyone can find a way out

They keep us in to pull us out
I'm rising up, wish I was sinking down
And it's not like there was warning and we were happy
And it's not like there was mourning in the warning

I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out
So everyone could find a way out
I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out
So everyone could find a way out

Instead of seeing a neighbor out
God, I wish I would've found a way out
It's the last time, we were happy, ever happy

I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out
So everyone could find a way out
Well, I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out
So everyone could find a way out

Well, I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out
So everyone could find a way out

The Whale Song is the closest thing to a guitar jam that Modest Mouse has ever produced. That said, the sound is still very much their own. The song opens with prominent bass, followed by almost three minutes of soaring guitar before the sparse vocals are introduced.

I fell in love with this track the first time I heard it. It's sometimes played as the opening song of a set and I would be ecstatic if that ever happens at a show I am able to get to. I've basically decided to see every Modest Mouse concert I can possibly reach by car. Maybe I'll even fly to a few one day?

The following lyrics are reportedly about the band leaving to join a major label:

"I know I was a scout, I should've found a way out, so everyone could find a way out"

Whatever the meaning or reason for the song, I'm glad it exists. It's six minutes of almost orgasmic guitar and I will never tire of hearing it.

The official video is great and worth checking out if you haven't seen it, but I'm going with a live video from the Reading Festival:

6. Exit Does Not Exist (This Is a Long Drive for Someone With Nothing to Think About)

Does not exist, take an exit
Does not exist, take an exit

I hear voices insinuating
Feeds me lyrics to this song that I am saying
Sunlight 7:20 pm, early september
Standing looking at a photograph
That you do not remember being taken
You look out of breath, and me like I am faking
As a matter of fact I don't recall this photo being taken
You don't even actually exist so I just started shaking

Exit Does Not Exist is such a spirited rant and it excites the hell out of me every time I hear it. I would guess that most people will be surprised at this song being ranked so high in my Top 100 because I don't hear people talk about it. I can't imagine why. It's exciting and has all of the elements I hope to find in a song. Just listen to the guitar, the huge drum sound, and the way that the band is clearly playing flat out.

This part gives me goosebumps:

"As a matter of fact I don't recall this photo being taken
You don't even actually exist so I just started shaking"

The sound is so jubilant that I can't help feeling uplifted when I hear it. It was hard for me to keep it out of the Top 5.

That's it for this installment. The aforementioned Top 5 will be revealed this coming weekend. Thanks for sticking with me through this mammoth journey.